Rich4yo,
If "impact on the war" is the only criteria then we should pretty much not have any Axis aircraft, as the Axis lost and therefor, when you get right down to it, Axis aircraft had no impact on the war. Certainly no late war Axis aircraft had any impact on the war and due to the lack of competition from late war Axis aircraft you might even say late war Allied aircraft had no impact on the war.
That is a stupid criteria.
As to a successful attack by the D4Y "Judy", look up the USS Franklin. She was most likely attacked by a D4Y "Judy" and removed from the war.
I am sure there were other, less impressive, successes as well.
No its not "stupid criteria". Because impact doesn't necessarily mean "successful impact", what it means is "presence" "availability" "inclusion"...ect When I said "as a criteria" I meant as one of several criteria, even tho I also mean "impact" as being the most important "criteria". You are also right in that all the powers in the war need aircraft in the game. That to is a criteria, and one lovers of the Japanese plane set can hardly complain about.
There are even more accounts that attack on the Franklin was made by a D3A Val then a Judy, "and we already have the D3A". And while a devastating attack the CV survived and a once great navy, and naval air arm, was long dead anyways. Had the Franklin not been 50 miles off the Japanese coast she would never had been in danger and to give a Judy credit for it is simply surmise.
And after The Marianas, where IJN aviation died, and where the Judy was slaughtered wholesale, it became just another medium range land based dive bomber outclassed by the latest USN fighters. Had the large fast IJN CVs survived long enough maybe it would have had some impact but the fact is they didn't and "it" didn't.
I think the Betty deserves inclusion first. But even that would probably end up a hangar queen. The simple fact is that the Japanese aviation industrial base just couldn't keep up with the Industrial juggernauts of America, England, Germany, and Russia. Theres just no way around that fact. And since 95% of the action is in the MAs you have to use "survivability" and "usability" as a criteria too. Whats the use of going to all that trouble to model a Queen?
Modeled correctly the Judy would be nothing more then a ronson lighter Kamikaze plane that any Hellcat could easily slaughter, and, outclass as a dive bomber. This is all just my opinion and you have as much right to yours as I have to mine. <S>
